Our 15 gallon mini-reef

[mercedes]

We started out w/ a 10 gallon glass tank, but it started leaking so we upgraded 5 whole gallons! Heh! Anyhow, below pls find before and after shots w/ assorted corals we've acquired. We're about 3 months into the hobby and are now avid enthusiasts! We also keep a little blog on our tank w/ a full list of our equipment + livestock and lots more (very random) pictures @ MERC + BRAD'S MINI-REEF PROJECT. Cheers!

 

Initial 10 gallon setup w/ standard aquarium hood light at a little over 1 week:

 

Upgrade to 15 gallons T5 HO x2 at a little over 1 month:

 

Upgrade to T5 HO x4 at 3 months:

 

Left - LPS + softies:

 

Right - zoo island:

 

R.I.P. pipe organ:

 

Frogspawn:

 

Orange plate:

 

Duncans:

 

Hammer:

 

Purple/green acan:

 

Itty bitty baby pom-pom xenia:

 

Chili:

 

Mint green candy cane:

 

Green button polyps:

 

Happy little pom-pom crab:

 

---MORE PICTURES:---

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t=#entry1773273

[hxcaquaman]

welcome to nano reef

[mercedes]

welcome to nano reef

 

Thanks hxaquaman!

[hxcaquaman]

no problem

 

I'm really like zoa island.... beautiful colors.

you should list your hardware on here.

 

brands and sizes, just a thought

 

any fish?

[mercedes]

no problem

 

I'm really like zoa island.... beautiful colors.

you should list your hardware on here.

 

brands and sizes, just a thought

 

any fish?

 

TY! Our hardware list can be found on our blog w/ the prices we paid for them under "Damage Control". Oh and we're looking at picking up a Taam Nano Skimmer, but have read mixed reviews. Any input from anyone out there is greatly appreciated.

 

We have a pair of mandarin gobies/dragonets (M/F) that are doing really well. We lucked out since ours eat frozen bloodworms.

[hxcaquaman]

I personally run a prism pro skimmer once a week on my tank and my gfs.

 

once I get the funds for a skimmer box I'm setting up a fuge and jamming a skimmer in there.

 

the prism IS HUGE for my 10 gallon, but it does the job. I only have one fish and a killer CUC so don't really have to worry too much about a lot of waste, since my fish only eats a couple of times a week.

 

my hermits and nasassis snails love formula 1 pellets tho

[mercedes]

What is the purpose of your fuge? To hold macro or to house incoming livestock? If it's just meant to house macro, ever think about a DIY AquaClear fuge? It's cheap and does the job.

 

This is an old picture:

We added a super slim filter pad chamber b/c I cheat and use phosphate removing pads.

[GrandpaFeathers]

you'll find those are pretty common here

[hxcaquaman]

just did one of those yesterday for my girlfriends tank.

 

busted out the dremal tool to make a lil bracket for a small heater.

 

when I'm able to put in the order I'm getting a little led set for the macro

[mercedes]

Let me know how the DIY LED refugium light goes!

 

I've been obsessively reading up on it too and it sounds like a fun little project to streamline the overall look and feel of the fuge. My bf argues it's not really cost effective b/c all of the parts you have to buy, but might try it at some point. I'm of the opinion that DIY are just better all around b/c it is thoroughly rewarding whenever you complete a project, even if it looks all ghetto and mangled.

[Kraylen]

Welcome to the site...

 

First off Im must say I love the way you set the test tube up! haha...

 

Second. your tank looks great! Zoo island is amazing... your frogspawn looks good! The orange plate is awesome and your pom pom crab is supercute.

 

If you ever have any questions about the pom pom feel free to PM me.

[mercedes]

Welcome to the site...

 

First off Im must say I love the way you set the test tube up! haha...

 

Second. your tank looks great! Zoo island is amazing... your frogspawn looks good! The orange plate is awesome and your pom pom crab is supercute.

 

If you ever have any questions about the pom pom feel free to PM me.

 

Thanks so much for the hardy props Kraylen! Got a link to pix of your tank for us to ogle? If so, send it over! We would really like our pom-pom xenia to take off, but not take over... Any advice?

[Kraylen]

I was talking about the pom pom crab, the xenia should take off without any effort! Xenia is like a weed to some keepers.... My tanks are bleh, nothing to drool over. Advice to the Xenia not taking over... is trim it, TRIM TRIM TRIM, you can make frags too as you maintain your xenia

[mercedes]

I was talking about the pom pom crab, the xenia should take off without any effort! Xenia is like a weed to some keepers.... My tanks are bleh, nothing to drool over. Advice to the Xenia not taking over... is trim it, TRIM TRIM TRIM, you can make frags too as you maintain your xenia

 

Oh oops! In that case, how about you let me in on the secret to convincing my pom-pom crab to come out of hiding? He only comes out at night, which sucks b/c he is so pretty to look at. I think he kind of looks like Stewie from Family Guy so we named him Stewie.

[mercedes]

Our absolutely darling (frozen bloodworm lovin') mandarin goby M/F pair:

 

 

 

 

Red/orange brain:

 

20080822: copying the mandarin images up to the first showcase post

 

Hungry white-tip anemone:

 

Hot pink + white yumas:

[Kraylen]

You will probably catch alot of heat in keeping one of these in such a small tank, let alone two(dragonettes) due to their diet, but they can eat other foods "if you're lucky." As adults they will accept prepared foods more... I personally don't have a problem with it, I think its awesome got have a pair... beautiful fish.

 

The hot pink and white yumas look awesome, you NEED to send me a frag when you're ready

 

As for the pom pom crab, feed your tank less and set up a trap of some sort with food for bait... he will most likely go for the food sooner or later.

[nanoty]

Apparently from his post they do eat prepared foods which is really cool. My wife wants one in our 40b but I told her it was too small, lol.

[mercedes]

We def lucked out w/ the mandarins. Guy, our male, looked really lonely so I shopped around for a suitable tank mate and really wanted a blue spotted jawfish, but wasn't sure whether or not they were compatible, so I got him a gf instead. She doesn't have a name yet. I think we're maxed out on fish for now, which is fine, since they are very busy, pretty little guys w/ lots of personality.

 

As for the hot pink + yellow-ish/white yumas, I'll def ping you if we ever get around to fragging them. Our other yumas are splitting-off like crazy, but have changed to a icky brown-ish color ever since we got our new light (T5 HO x2 to x4). Will they recover their color? If so, how long? We're going on about 2 weeks now and they are still very upset w/ us.

 

Also, anyone out there w/ a 15-20 gallon nano-reef? If so, how many clean up crew critters do you have and what kinds? We have a handful of various snails and hermit crabs, but there's a lot of detritus that gets kicked up when I rake the sand. By rake, I mean stir up w/ my lovely 99 cent back-scratcher. How do you all deal w/ the gunk? I've tried vacuuming, but it looks like I'm just sucking up sand and making things worse. Help?

[hxcaquaman]

as for clean up crews i usually go a lil over board

in my ten I have 7 mixed snails (margarita's,, asteras and turbos)

6 nasassiris snails

and like 10 smail hermits

most of these guys are really small but I like going over board just to try and keep the tank its cleanest

 

I know for a 30 gallon tank most sites clean up crews are

25 hermits

20 snails

a pair of emeralds

maybe a cucumber

and a sand sifter starfish

[RickM61]

i hope you have a top for that tank for the mandrins..they are small now but when they get older and start to spawn they go from the bottom of the tank to the top of the tank belly to belly..sometimes they get carried away and can leave the tank..i had to put lids on my tank as my pair have almost jumped twice..nice looking pair btw

 

Rick

[scarfish]

No way! I give the mandarins 3 months.

[mercedes]

We def have lids for all of our tanks! The discus + cichlids are always banging around at night. Hopefully, the mandarins don't jump nearly as much. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

I turned off the powerheads + fuge for a sec to target feed the sun coral and I swear I heard creaking/croaking coming out of the tank. I thought it was coming from the mandarins, who looked like they were playing with each other. Anybody ever experience this?

 

Also, what kind of behavior can I expect out of the pair? So far I have observed that they like to sleep next to each other or in very close vicinity, but don't want anything to do with each other during the day.

[braddo]

Hi all, I am Brad, the "moderator" of this tank. My job is to try to keep an eye on Mercedes to prevent her throwing every "pretty" thing she comes across into the tank and to touch all the "icky" stuff.

 

Our cleanup crew consists of

 

10 Nassarius snails

2 Margarita snails

4 Cerith snails

4 Star Astrea snails

2 Blue Leg hermits

2 Scarlett hermits

 

We did get a lid for our tank although the original reason we picked it up was to help control the evaporation rate.

 

Scarfish, why do you say the Mandarins will only live three months? Just being sarcastic and basing it on all the posts that say they will eat all our pods then starve?

[mercedes]

No way! I give the mandarins 3 months.

 

We've had Guy since June so we're closing in on the 3 month mark here soon. Hopefully, they make it!

 

We did lose all our shrimp over the summer, which was a major bummer, but will re-stock post-September. Apparently, the heat of the summer just got to them. The LFS staff said they lose all theirs too if it gets too hot. I thought we had some rogue crab or monster bristle worm on a shrimp massacre mission. Anyhow, lesson learned the hard way.

 

RIP Mr. Sparkle Sanchez!

 

On a side note, I think we need more snails! Yes, we have like 10 nassarius, but 6 of them are teeny tiny, smaller than a dime. Any suggestions on highly effective detritus-ridding snails?

[BKtomodachi]

Will your dragonets eat anything but bloodworms?? They are not a marine food, and certainly would not be the closest option to their natural diet.

Have you tried mysis and things of that sort? Its just as easy- but much lower fat content and a better fit for the fish.